Trinity’s Summer Street Plaque Rededicated

May 23, 2017

On a bright breezy morning in Downtown Crossing, nearly 100 people – including several Trinity parishioners -- gathered on Summer Street for a presentation and rededication of the bronze plaque that marks the original location of the first two Trinity Church buildings. Developer Millennium Partners arranged the event to honor the history of the block, and acknowledge the revitalized neighborhood. Speakers included Boston councilman Bill Linehan; David Burnham, a descendant of both the Filene’s building architect Daniel Burnham and Trinity’s 9th rector Phillips Brooks; and a number of Millennium executives. The event concluded with a recounting of the history of Trinity from its start to its move to Back Bay, and a prayer from the Rev. Bill Rich.

The “Trinity Commemorative Window” was created with great care for Millennium Partners by parishioner Raffi Berberian, who also curated the other historical displays in the “Filene’s block.” The original bronze plaque now hangs prominently next to the entrance of the Burnham Building, 10 Summer Street. The new display adds and corrects some of the history from the original plaque, and is highlighted by a background of angel faces, familiar to Trinity parishioners from the Angel Room. (These angel portraits are among the only artifacts that were salvaged from last Trinity on Summer Street that was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1872.)